Sunday, November 05, 2006

Webb of Deception

In this age of political cynicism, it is unremarkable that a politician would change his position on an issue, or even take conflicting positions. But Jim Webb's transformation from the nominally conservative Republican who served as the Reagan administration's secretary of the Navy to a left-wing Democratic Senate candidate rivals St. Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus. Divine intervention, of course, is one possibility. A more likely explanation, however, is that the public persona Mr. Webb presents is actually a fabrication, as carefully crafted as any character in the novels he has penned.

The shift is truly remarkable. He once refused to shake John Kerry's hand, and in a 2004 USA Today editorial wrote that his 1971 Senate testimony had "defamed a generation of honorable men." Now he trumpets Mr. Kerry's endorsement. He once called the Clinton Administration among "the most corrupt" in modern history in one of many attacks aimed at the former president. Now he has Bill Clinton host a fundraiser. Mr. Webb served in one of the most conservative administrations in American history. Today, he has embraced the entire agenda of the Democratic Party's far-left wing.

In fairness, Mr. Webb has remained extremely consistent on some issues. One example is his disdain for women in military service...

The evidence of that disdain is too lengthy to quote. Read it all here, including Webb's opposition to a memorial (a mere statue) to the 10,000 women who served in Vietnam.